Nostepinne

I’m not sure if I mentioned it here but I’m trying to step up my knitting game. No more accessories, just garments provided they don’t make me look fat. I already have a few sweaters in my queue and cast on Heather Dixon’s Morgat a few days ago.

The yarn I ordered for this project came in hanks (9 white, 3 navy) so of course they had to be wound. Normally I wind the yarn hanks into center-pull balls as I go (wind, knit to the end, wind, join, knit to the end, wind, join…) but this time I decided to do all the winding at once so I wouldn’t have to stop.

I read rave reviews about nostepinnes and the yarn cakes they help produce. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about! I didn’t have a nostepinne on hand so I grabbed a toilet paper roll which I heard worked just as well. I used this tutorial and started winding.

To be honest I read her instructions once and just went at it… That lead to failure of course. If you compare my progress shots with hers you can see that mine was clearly too neat. I wasn’t sure if you should be able to see the different layers or if each time you just hit the TP roll… After a while I decided to do the latter and wound as fast as I could screaming a few expletives here and there.

I tried numerous times to get that cake shape (flat on top and bottom) but still ended up with a ball. It stands up and doesn’t roll though so it wasn’t a total failure.

I won’t be doing this with my other hanks that are only 82 yards. They wouldn’t be sitting on my desk long enough to reap the benefits of being in a cake (vs. a ball made around my fingers) and it takes 3X as long to make.

I didn’t think to try this new winding method until after I wound my second ball so there’s a comparison shot. Left: Wound on fingers Right: Wound on makeshift nostepinne

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hey, i have a really nice wooden nostepinne that i never use anymore now that i have a ball winder. i would totally love to give it to you so it can get some use! let me know when you’re going to be on campus or otherwise in irvine so we can meet up!